Traffic Study Cites Failed Intersections

HARWICH – A town-funded evaluation of existing and future traffic conditions in North Harwich identifies several intersections with failed ratings and cautions that safety measures should be considered in light of more development planned for the area.

There are several development projects in the study area that may add traffic volumes to the roadway network, including Pine Oaks Village Homes IV, 456 Queen Anne Rd. and other projects. Overall, peak hour traffic volumes entering the study area intersections during the peak season are expected to increase by 1 to 19 percent due to additional traffic generated by the planned development projects, as well as due to the general annual growth rate of 0.23 percent applied to all roadway, according to the study.

The traffic study area was roughly bounded by Route 6 to the north, Great Western Road/Main Street to the south, Pleasant Lake Avenue to the east and Depot Street to the west. The study, presented to the select board on Monday night, included an assessment of safety data, turning movement volumes and capacity analyses at 15 intersections, according to Matt Duranleau, a senior planning engineer with VHB, Inc.  

Existing traffic volumes along the roadways in the study area carry 7,000 vehicles on an average day, with the highest peak hour traffic volumes along Pleasant Lake Avenue between Route 6 and Queen Anne Road. 

The evaluation found that six of 15 intersections have an average crash rate above the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s District  average. The highest crash rate intersection is at Depot Street and Old Chatham Road/Factory Road, where two fatal accidents occurred in 2016 and 2018.

 The six intersections rated as failed were Depot Street/Old Chatham Road; Pleasant Lake Avenue/Queen Anne Road; Great Western Road/Lothrop Avenue; Great Western Road/Depot Street (east); Main Street/Pleasant Lake Avenue; and Pleasant Lake Avenue/Headwaters Drive. The intersection of Depot Street and Main Street is expected to degrade to failed under peak season volumes in the future, according to the study. 

Recommended safety assessments include an evaluation of crash trends and appropriate enhancements, such as improving sight distance, signage and striping, and/or implementing alternative intersection controls. Converting unsignalized intersections to roundabouts or all-way stops, conducting signal analyses to determine if it is feasible to add traffic signal control at any locations, or adding additional lanes to approaches that are currently over capacity are other suggestions.

 Further evaluation at each location should be conducted for all potential roadway improvements to determine the most appropriate enhancement to improve operations and safety, according to Duranleau.

The study looked at the proposed 248-unit Pine Oaks Village Homes IV (POVHIV) project near the intersection of Queen Anne Road and Main Street; the 60-unit 456 Queen Anne Road project; a smaller subdivision on Headwaters Drive proposing five homes; and the 79-bedroom family transition living center proposed at the end of Main Street Extension in Dennis, which has access from Headwaters Drive.

The trip generation numbers provided in an earlier traffic study presented by POVHIV roughly aligned with the VHB study and were checked by a peer consultant, said Duranleau.

Resident Patrick Otton said Harwich and society in general are autocentric, and noted the lack of pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure in the area. He said with the potential for 384 additional families in the area, there will be a lot of kids on bicycles. More  sidewalks and bike trails are needed to improve safety, he said.

Duranleau agreed that the existing pedestrian and bicycle accommodations are minimal. Potential improvements for multimodal accommodations could include installing sidewalks and shared-use paths. The need for crosswalks at intersections was also identified.  

Select Board member Donald Howell questioned the vehicle speed data in the document, asserting that vehicles travel Queen Anne Road at a much higher rate than cited in the study.

Traffic speeds were done toward the Route 124 intersection of Queen Anne Road, Duranleau said, which may have impacted speed assessments. The traffic study was conducted last October and trip counts were seasonally adjusted to represent both peak season and average season conditions, he said.

Future infrastructure costs will be needed to address the conditions in the study area, and Select Board member Jeffrey Handler wanted to know how that would be funded. 

Select Board Chair Julie Kavanagh said the question was premature. The board has just received the plan and members need to digest it, she said.  

“We have to dive into it and see where we go from here,” Kavanagh said. 

Select Board member Peter Piekarski said prioritization of the needs will be necessary. Kavanagh said there has failed to address infrastructure over time and that day-to-day improvements are necessary as the town looks at addressing housing needs.

 Town Administrator Joseph Powers said the plan would be presented to town staff for further study. VHB will present a traffic study of Harwich Port in the next couple of weeks, he added.